I believe that Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the only bridge to God available to sinful mankind. This bridge was built by Christ's sacrificial death and resurrection. Only repentance and the acceptance of the Lordship of Jesus Christ is necessary for salvation, the forgiveness of sins. This is the "faith" in His Word, His offer to you, that one needs to have. The only "work" involved is admitting that you are sinful, and therefore "outside looking in" concerning God's Holy Kingdom, and in need of Jesus Christ.
"Good works" are not necessary for salvation, but are a natural outgrowth of the desire to please the Lord. If they are not present, one's faith should be re-examined.
I am a Fundamentalist Christian who attends an independant Baptist Church. I choose to hang my entire belief system solely on the Word of God, as He has inerrantly revealed to man. I will allow no man to add doctrine or tradition above this scripture. I believe that the 1611 translation of the King James Bible is by far the most accurate English translation ever, regardless of its supposed "antiquity". I choose to believe that God, in His perfect and powerful way, blessed this translation and has continued to keep it available for today. I trust fully in the power of the Holy Spirit to open its pages to my understanding, and that He will continue to do so as I mature in my Christianity over time... as He will for anyone who elects to approach Bible study with childlike faith.
The Bible
Inspiration
God used Holy men of His choosing, inspired by His Holy Ghost, as His tool, to pen His word. (2 Peter 1:21) . All scripture is inspired by God and is therefore, inerrant and infallible (2 Tim 3:16). The Bible is our final authority in all manners of life, faith, and practice. (2 Pe 1:19; 2 Tim 3:16) The Bible is God's complete revelation to man. It does not merely contain God's words but is wholly God's Word. No books, no verses, no punctuation, nothing, will be added or removed by God, nor is anything to be added or removed by man (Deu 4:2, Prov 30:6, Rev 22:19) His revelation to man has been completed forever.. (Psalm 119:89)Preservation
God has not only inspired His word but has also promised to preserve it (Psalm 12:6,7;Isaiah 50:8).God's inspired word is preserved, wholly, inerrantly and infallibly in the King James Authorized Bible of 1611, the only version with no proven error. All other versions are corrupt and should not be used. It is not only the meaning of God's words which have been preserved but the very words of God. (Luke 4:4)
The Existence of God
I believe that there is one God, the source, support and end of all things, eternally existent in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Jesus Christ
I believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His Virgin Birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death, in His shed Blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the Father's right hand, and in His personal, premillennial return for His saints, and with His saints at the Revelation.
The Depravation of Man
I believe that man is totally depraved, a sinner both by nature and practice, therefore estranged from God, totally lost and in need of the convicting and regenerating ministry of the Holy Spirit, - to be 'born-again'
The Existence of Satan
I believe in the personality of Satan; in his power and kingdom, in his wiles and in his judgment at the cross and his eternal destruction in hell.
The Holy Spirit
I believe in the deity and present ministry of the Holy Spirit, that He convicts the sinner, regenerates the one who believes, indwells, seals, instructs, reproves and guides the believer; that He fills and controls every life that is wholly yielded to Him.
Salvation
I believe that salvation is the free GIFT of God offered to man by His grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ., plus nothing.
The After Life
I believe in the bodily resurrection of the saved unto "LIFE" and the unsaved unto "judgment" and everlasting damnation. We believe in a literal heaven with golden streets and a literal hell with fire and brimstone.
The Local Church
I believe in the local church* which is a body of baptized** believers who come together in obedience of Christ to carry out the dictates of the New Testament. This fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ is very important to growth and maturation, but not salvation.*The "local church" is different from "The Church" (spiritual body of believers in Christ)
of which all true Christians immediately become a part.**Baptism, though not necessary for salvation, was commanded to us by Jesus Himself.
Its purpose is to publicly "die" to our flesh and be "reborn" in Christ.
Separation
I believe and practice both ecclesiastical and personal separation on the basis of the Word of God.
